Coastal Boulders: Introduction and Scope

摘要: Boulders represent a singular class of sediment, encountered in very diverse geomorphic systems. In coastal areas, they may appear as isolated exotic deposits or part larger constructional features. Owing to their size, boulders are less easily reworked than finer sediments and presence has become increasingly recognised an important signature for high-energy marine inundation (HEMI) events. They therefore valuable subject natural hazard studies. This is especially evident along tropical coasts where coral reefs provide large quantities that accumulate on the reef flat farther inland. volume explores significance particular subset boulders, namely reef-platform boulders. While these geomorphological objects have been scrutinised last decade following catastrophic events like 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, actually bear much longer history terms scientific interest stretching back over two centuries.